Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard urged businesses and organizations to at least delay their openings Monday by two hours as another round of arctic air was forecast to push in and send wind chill below zero.

The National Weather Service issued wind chill warnings for portions of the state through noon Wednesday, saying values could reach 45 below zero in northwestern Indiana and approach 40 below elsewhere in northern and Central Indiana from Monday morning through Tuesday morning.

“I encourage anyone leading a local organization to consider the impact on people taking the bus, walking outside, or working in the elements when planning their operations through Wednesday,” the mayor said in a news release.

Ballard said city-county government will operate on a two-hour delay.

Many area schools announced two-hour delays, as well.

Due to the potential for light snowfall overnight and refreezing of melting snow, Ballard raised Marion County’s travel status from an advisory to a watch effective at 10 p.m. Sunday. A watch means motorists should only drive if necessary.

An arctic front is what will drop temperatures well below zero Monday, National Weather Service meteorologist Joseph Nield said.

Gusting winds up to about 40 miles per hour and about an inch of snow were expected Sunday night, he said. Marion County will chill down to about 3 degrees Monday with a low of minus 14 degrees. With the wind chill, temperatures could feel as cold as minus 25 to minus 40 degrees.

The forecast will put Marion County under a winter weather advisory through noon Monday, when it will be replaced with a wind chill warning through Wednesday, the weather service said.

Michael Fitzpatrick took an opportunity amid Sunday’s milder weather to go jogging along the Downtown Canal. “You got to come out when it’s a heat wave because tomorrow it’s going to be like minus 40,” he said.

While it's normal for arctic fronts to move through the area in the winter, Nield called the dramatically cold temperatures "a little unusual."

Even before the chill set in, motorists in northern Indiana had to contend with a few more inches of fresh snow and blustery winds blowing snow across roads and lowering visibilities. A 15-mile stretch of Interstate 65 in White County and Interstates 80/94 in Lake County had numerous slide-offs, spin-outs, jackknifed semitrailers and other crashes, Indiana State Police Sgt. Ann Wojas said Sunday.

“Staying off the interstate entirely is the safest option. Use alternate routes,” Wojas said.

Seven central and northern Indiana counties — Steuben, Fulton, Wabash, Huntington, Tipton, Jay and Randolph — were limiting travel Sunday to emergency management workers only, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security said on its website. More than 40 other counties mostly in northern and eastern Indiana recommended only essential travel.

The Madison County Highway Department reported snowdrifts higher than 10 feet Saturday in some areas of the county northeast of Indianapolis, The (Anderson) Herald Bulletin reported.